Mr Randles' class. During the Autumn term, we will be learning.....

Literacy

In relation to this term’s key question surrounding light and darkness, the children will be learning the story of Plop the owl in The Owl Who was Afraid of the Dark. The initial literacy focus will be on writing simple, descriptive sentences about the characters in the story using adjectives and verbs.

As the term progresses, we will be making the most of the opportunities presented to us by our City of Culture and by this time of year to spark the children’s writing and creativity. The children will have the chance to capture the excitement of Hull Fair and Bonfire Night by composing sense poems. They will also discover some other stories relating to light and dark through Harvest Festival and Diwali.

Numeracy

The children are taught maths daily through investigations and ‘CLIC’ sessions (Counting, Learn-Its, It’s Nothing New and Calculation). Using both these approaches, the children develop a stronger understanding of numbers and number facts, as well as learning to apply their knowledge to solving a variety of problems in different contexts.

This half term we will begin by focusing on the concepts of ‘more’ and ‘less’, and their relationship to addition and subtraction. The children will be using both concrete apparatus and pictorial methods to solve number sentences. By the end of this half term, we also intend for the children to be able to count in 1s, 2s, 5s and 10s and be able to quickly recall their doubles up to 10+10.

Science

We kick this half term off by investigating sources of light and how they cast shadows. The children will be exploring how objects can be used and manipulated to create different shadows on the wall. They will then have a chance to discover the relationship between different colours by shining lights through coloured filters.

This time of year is also perfect for observing seasonal change, as the weather turns from Summer into Autumn, and then into Winter. The children will be challenged to describe these changes and understand how the days begin to shorten as we get closer to Christmas.

Theme: How will you light up the world?

As Hull’s year as City of Culture comes to a close, we enter the final season entitled ‘Tell the World’. This is a chance to celebrate what makes our city special, but we also want to challenge the children to think about this city’s legacy and their legacy. How will they champion this great city? How will they make a difference?

We will be looking at the history of Hull and how we fit into it. We will be exploring how others have lit the world before us. We will be devising our own Festival of Light and tell the world about what makes us each special.

As part of this, we are encouraging the children to champion something that is special to them. Each Friday, two children will be invited to share their special skill or object and have the opportunity to teach their class. We will be sending a letter out with further details soon.

Look how busy we have been!

Watch this space...

Homework

Every Friday your child should recieve a list of spellings to learn for the following week. We encourage you to practise these words with them regularly.

Once a week, children will be receiving Big Maths homework. This will have the same facts from week to week, but in a different order. They are to help your children recall number facts quickly.

We urge you to also practise reading with your children at least 4 times per week. Your children will all have a reading book to take home. It will be their responsibility to change this in school.

The work you do with your children at home is just as important as the learning they do in school. We thank you for all the wonderful support you provide for your children.

Other Notices

Thank you to all parents for helping your children begin year 1 so maturely and independently. Here are a few reminders for any questions you might have about our routines.

Children are expected to look after their own book bags and they are responsible for giving homework and letters directly to the teachers.

Children are also responsible for their own fruit money. Fruit can be bought at play time from a trolley for 20p each day. There are always enough coins to allow for change so do not worry if you cannot give your children the exact change.

We do not need a PE kit unless we are learning gynmastic skills, and we will inform you when this comes around. It would be useful to have a pair of outdoor shoes or wellies in case we are learning outside.